The avant-garde sometimes push social reforms.
Igor Stravinsky is an avant-garde musician.

Beret E. Strong has written:

'The poetic avant-garde' -- subject(s): Avant-garde (Aesthetics), Experimental poetry, History and criticism, Modern Poetry, Poetry, Modern

Europeans viewed film as a form of high art

The avant-garde sometimes push social reforms.
Igor Stravinsky is an avant-garde musician.

Avant-garde is the English term for the French phrase 'avant-gardiste.' Something that is avant-garde pushes the envelope in terms of acceptable behavior, or form. It usually pushes forward new, cutting-edge, and experimental ideas. It's normally associated in some way with the arts or artists.